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When people praise games, they usually mention well-written stories, bombastic soundtracks, incredible graphics or art style. Sadly, great HUD and UI tend to be overlooked. It’s probably because players get used to it quickly and take it for granted. Meanwhile, designing a good HUD and UI can be quite a challenge, especially if you want to make it both practical and outstanding.
We will talk about the principles of game HUD, take a look at the great video game HUD design and see who can help you to design it for your own project.
HUD stands for “head-up display”. It’s an interface that is placed on the camera to display the necessary gameplay information, such as health points, resources, a map, score, time left, etc.
This information is crucial for a comfortable gaming experience. While some games experimented with an engaging approach, removing the HUD from the screen to make it both harder and more realistic, it’s not a standard. Removing HUD makes games feel slightly wrong, like removing a windshield or a rear-view mirror from your car.
If you’re making a game that is supposed to be immersive and put players into the shoes of a protagonist, without any health bars on the screen, a diegetic interface may help you.
Diegetic interface removes all the information from the screen, but instead, implements it directly into the gameplay. For example, your health bar will be placed on a character’s back and the ammo count can be displayed in the form of a hologram when you aim your gun. This is exactly how it was made in horror blockbuster Dead Space.
Developers care about the convenience of a player and understand that info about the health, experience points, ammo counter and so on is crucial to have. It’s important to pay attention to clarity, but there’s always a place for some cool experiments that players will remember. Let’s take a look at some examples of HUD in video games and see what is the basis for their design!
One of the most cherished HUDs and UIs in video games was invented with the release of Persona 5. It’s capital-s Stylish, and if you have seen it once, you will never forget the beautiful blend of striking red and black. What makes it so good is that it is also perfectly functional and not just a gimmick, providing you with all the necessary info you can expect from a complex JRPG.
Another cult classic example is Metroid Prime. A pretty common and conventional game HUD – you see an ammo counter, a radar, a map, weapon modes and health points – with the exception that it’s technically a holographic part of your protagonist’s helmet. It works very well on many levels: it’s a part of your powerful suit that allows you to do tricks and shoot enemies and it’s a believable element of a hypothetical power armor that assists not only its wearer but also the player.
Metro is another series that successfully implemented diegetic game HUD. Your character wears a wristwatch that shows the required information. Without additional distractions on the screen, you can focus on exploring the post-apocalyptic world full of interesting places to visit. It also works really well with the cruel world surrounding you: having a certain accessory with vital info in sight is definitely used by people doing hard work in nasty places.
Far Cry 2 came out a very long time ago, but it still stands out as a great example of a memorable game HUD. We mentioned Dead Space as a great example of a diegetic interface, and Far Cry 2 does something similar. It’s a game that relies on providing a realistic, hardcore military experience to players and, for example, doesn’t show you the map on the screen. Instead, when you drive a car, GPS navigation can be used to track the way, and a good old-fashioned paper map shows you the places where you need to go. Pretty fun and creative approach that players still remember very well.
A very unique example: you’re probably thinking “What is this?”. This is what the game intended you to ask. Cruelty Squad is a surreal nightmare-like experience, blending tactical stealth, horror, immersive sim and some other genres. The ugly aesthetic of it is a part of the whole package: the world as seen by a depressed professional hitman. Enemies can kill you quickly and they can be hiding among big groups of innocent NPCs. After dying, you have to start from the beginning. But the most important parameters – health and ammo – can easily be seen and taken into attention even if you’re not focusing on them. Despite the intentionally uncomfortable experience, game HUD standards still remain!
Designing the game HUD can be seen as something very simple – “just draw some lines on the screen in different colors! – but there are some things requiring attention and thought. Let’s learn about them!
Following these basics should result in a perfectly fine HUD for your players to experience. And yet, HUD game design is always open to more new things, but tread carefully!
Then, a 2D artist team can help you! They work together with game and UX designers to ensure the HUD is doing everything it needs to be doing and looks unique and great.
If you have ever played Diablo, you will never forget its game HUD. Gothic font, a frame with an eerie tombstone texture, two big spheres at the bottom indicating the remaining health and mana points – practical and remarkable, allowing you to soak in its dark atmosphere and play without being confused about the game mechanics and systems.
Creative 2D artists ensure the intuitive aspect of the interface, providing you with various artistic options to choose from. They pick up shapes, colors, textures and even animations of some elements. They also experiment with them and test them out. If it doesn’t work properly, it can always be redone.
For instance, some elements may be enhanced by the introduction of a particle effect. It looks pretty and affects the atmosphere in a certain way. But it also can be redundant, distract players’ attention and overall turn out to be pretty, but pointless. Nothing is wrong with dynamic elements, but their implementation should work on all kinds of levels.
Instead, artists can add a 2D effect that is inanimate but works well with the game’s atmosphere. Then it starts to feel unique but doesn’t work against good intentions.
Artists help successfully blend different aspects of your game. Their input makes sure HUD correlates with the worldbuilding, the game’s overall aesthetic, and maybe even some occasional character traits. While playing the game, players will notice that the HUD accompanies their experience in a certain way, which will lead to a big interest and endorsement.
Outsourcing studios can definitely be contacted to work on HUDs! They have a dedicated team of professional artists with years of experience who will collaborate with you on the project, creating different kinds of interfaces for your needs, aesthetics, art style and game mechanics.
At RocketBrush Studio, we can produce all kinds of 2D art, not just the interface, but the additional art, such as concept art, environmental art, character and weapon art and so on. Our workflow and working practices have been tested and proven to be comfortable and efficient, with regular quality assurance processes, internal meetings, feedback gathering and successful releases.
We have been working since 2016, collaborating with various industry leaders, such as Supercell, Paradox Interactive, Romero Games, Applovin and so on. Our testimonials can be read here.
Our expertise lies not only in 2D art, but also in 3D, animation, sound design and even full-scale game production. We have worked with different styles and genres and our portfolio can be investigated here.
Designing HUD is not as easy as it may seem, and it’s a very important part of the whole package. Be sure to focus on practicality, usefulness and impressive visual aspect to create an interface that players will discuss and adore for years after the initial release.
If you experience trouble creating it, feel free to contact RocketBrush Studio. Our experience, expertise and creative approach will allow you to focus on other aspects of your game, and provide you with a suitable final result, fully working in correlation to your game’s aspects.
We would love to help you create a distinct HUD that will be practical yet pretty, with a full health bar and a compass pointing right to the objective!
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